Ultraviolet (UV) light is most famous for causing suntans (or sunburns). But there is another, much healthier use for UV light that has been getting more and more attention.
Most people know that too much UV light can damage or even kill skin cells. UV light has that affect on all cells that it comes in contact with, including bacteria and other single-celled organisms. If you are a single-celled organism and you are hit with too many UV rays, you die. Since disease-causing germs are all single-celled organisms, this is actually a good thing for us humans. However, most people spend most of their time indoors, where there is almost no UV light. That may be OK for our skin, but it is damaging to our overall health; the indoor air in modern homes carries many more disease-causing germs than the fresh air outside.
There is a solution to this problem. Homeowners can now install UV lights inside their home’s air circulation systems, killing off the germs that make people sick. These specialty UV lights emit specific ultraviolet frequencies that are most effective at killing such microorganisms. Since the UV light sources are installed inside the dark ducts of your HVAC system, the rays they give off never come in contact with your own skin. And since HVAC systems circulate all of the air in a house – usually multiple times each day – a single UV lamp can kill off all of the airborne germs in the building while only illuminating a small section of enclosed ductwork.
There are multiple different options for installing UV lights, and some indoor air quality products include a UV lamp along with other air-cleaning elements, such as a HEPA filter. Studies have shown that using a combination UV light/air filter is the best way to rid the air of germs and other disease- or allergy-causing particles.
At Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning, we are your San Joaquin Valley indoor air quality experts. We have a number of UV light systems and other devices to clean the air and keep your family healthy. Contact us with any questions.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about UV lights and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Donald P Dick Air Conditioning services the greater Fresno area in California. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!